PCB for Boiler??

DanCherry73

Does anyone know how much it would cost to replace a PCB on a boiler. I have the Baxi Solo 2 and I had a cowboy around (from yellow pages naturally) who couldn't tell me what was wrong for 2 hours and then suggested that we replace the PCB. The Boiler works fine except that it cuts out before it gets warm. Any ideas? or anyone know a good plumber in Worcester?

carl310166

Sorry i can't help with the plumber.

The PCB in my boiler failed about 3 years ago,it happened on a very cold Feb morning (sods law),i was desperate,and called out a national company from the Yellow Pages as all the local ones were working flat out.

The guy arrived and he charged me £85 for the 1st hours labour,it looked like the PCB had failed and he ordered one for £285 !. Note,he couldn't guarantee this was the problem,so if he fitted the part and it was not,i would still have to pay.

In the meantime,i rang the manufacturer (potterton)for a price on the PCB......£80 !!!

He came back 4 days later ! to fit the part,but i noticed he was trying to last out the job by talking on his mobile as he was charging me another £85 per hour.
I did inform him that i was not going to accept paying more than an hours labour to fit the part,as it could probably be done in 20 mins max.

I begrudgeingly paid,and told him i was not happy,but i don't think it bothered him.

I also rang trading standards about them,but it was my choice to accept the price,so there was nothing i could do.


The only way i could come to terms with the money it cost me,was to work out that it was still cheaper than paying British Gas the £16.50 per month contract,if you like,i was self insuring,execpt that i did not have the money saved away.

Good Luck!

Gaz_Hammer

Hi,
Parts Center (Click Here) have what is probably the pcb for your boiler. Enter 425096 in the search box!
To check for certain if this the correct board you will need the Gas Council Number (abbreviated as GC Number which will be 7 digits long **-***-**) for the boiler.
The fault could also be a potentiometer or a sensor!

You could try Baxi customer services to see about the cost of a service call if you are against using BG.
Baxi Contact Here

Gaz

p.s.
Living in Worcester its a shame you don't own a Worcester boiler?

DanCherry73

Thanks for your help guys I will see what I can gather from the manufacturers

Cheers

BobRobUK

So tell me who is worth £85.00 an hour?
I would raher buy a new boiler for £500 than give them my money, makes you sick - preying on the vulnerable.

Paul_Varjak

carl310166: Are you sure he even fitted a new part?

YorkshireBoy

BobRobUK wrote:

So tell me who is worth £85.00 an hour?

At the risk of going slightly off topic, we had an engineer (from a national fire and intruder alarm company who also make door locks) in to work today to fix a fault with the fire alarm.

He set it off 4 times in 30 mins, and 150 people walked a 200m round trip each time!

When he left, after saying he had to order a new part, he gave me his service sheet to sign.

Even though I'd insisted he write "set alarm off 4 times by mistake", he still filled it out for "2hrs @ £50/hr = £100" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've asked accounts to raise an invoice for £500 - should go some way towards the cost of disruption to our business this morning.

BobRobUK

A suggestion Yorkshireboy is that staff are informed that the system is being worked on, should stop all the staff evacuating causing much disruption and it's bloody cold being stood outside.

Bob

carl310166

He did fit a new part,because i insisted i was given the old one.

I did ring trading standards about him,but they told me (which is true) that i was not being forced to pay the £85 per hour,i knew how much he was charging.

Basically,these guy's know that on a very cold February morning,if your boiler breaks down,you are not in a position to find another company and haggle with the price,because everybody can charge what they want when people are desperate for some hot water and heating.

clive_the_gas

Dan,

Most manufacturers recommend annual maintenance of their gas appliances.

Rather than waiting until a boiler breaks down and facing a huge bill, some people find it more prudent to get a service plan with a company that will give an annual service and also cover for parts & labour throughout the year.

Of course this will be a personal choice, as has so often been discussed on this site. You either face a large bill when the inevitable happens or pay regular mothly payments for protection of your central heating.

The Yellow pages would not be my preferred method to find a tradesman. I would ask friends/neighbours for recommendations.

Magentasue

When our Baxi boiler packed up we had Baxi round. We were told there was a flat fee for call out, labour and all parts. Can't remember exact fgure but there wasn't much change out of £200. I think this covered any eventuality except having to replace the boiler but I might be wrong. Our builder friend suggested a couple of things it could have been and reckoned it was going to be an expensive part or two so we went for Baxi. Advantage was that he came with a van full of replacement parts whereas someone local would have gone away and ordered them.

As said above, when it's cold and you have no heating, your options narrow!